The Week That Was
by charlicook11
Summary: "Bought it a week after we started dating." Seems like it must have been a pretty good week...
1. Wednesday

_**Chapter One **_

"I'm sorry, what was the question?"

Following Jim's interruption, the camera crew very quickly realised that Pam's mind was elsewhere, and started packing up for the day. As Pam made her way back to her desk, she noticed that most of the office, or that Jim, had already left for the day. Puzzled about what that meant for the rest of the evening, she went behind her desk to gather her things, and she found a note attached to her keyboard,

_Pick you up at 7. Cant wait, Jim x._

Pam picked up the note, and smiling to herself, slid it into her pocket as she made her way towards her car. The drive home consisted mostly of Pam's thoughts flashing from Jim's face as she said what she said at the beach, his face as he asked her to dinner tonight, and then always back to Karen, what about her? What about New York? As Pam arrived back at her apartment, she tried her best to distance these thoughts from her head, and instead focus on tonight. Pleased to finally have an excuse to wear those new online shopping clothes, she quickly showered and dressed, all the while breathing deeply, whispering to herself, _Relax! Its dinner with an old friend, your best friend. This shouldn't feel like such a big deal_.

After what felt like forever, and also somehow felt far too quick, her doorbell rang. As she opened her door and saw Jim standing there smiling, all thoughts of nerves and what if's immediately evaporated. She returned his smile with a hello and a hug, and invited him inside.

"So Beesly, you hungry?" Jim asked.

"Starved!" Pam nodded, grabbed her purse and led the way out her front door. As they got in Jim's car, Pam was relieved to find how quickly they seemed to revert to the old friends they once were, laughing and joking about nothing and everything on the way to the restaurant. Her questions about Karen, and what exactly this dinner meant now seemed irrelevant, as she marvelled in how natural and relaxed things seemed between them. This normalcy continued throughout dinner, until their plates were cleared, and Jim cleared his throat.

"So, elephant in the room, I think we have some stuff to talk about," he started nervously. Pam looked up at him and smiling agreed, "Yeah I think we do."

Feeling a little more relaxed, Jim started again. "Firstly, I want you to know that I withdrew from consideration for the job in New York. I just..", he paused, "...it just wasn't what I wanted. David asked me where I saw myself in ten years, and I realised I didn't see myself in New York, or at least," he looked down, hesitant to finish his sentence, "..at least not with Karen." He finished quietly.

Pam didn't say anything, she wasn't sure exactly how to respond, so she simply looked up at him waiting for him to continue. "Pam, I know its a lot, but after what you said at the beach, I began to start thinking things I haven't let myself think in a long time, and I have to know, if perhaps you think we could maybe...if you wanted to talk about..."

"I'd love that." Pam cut him off smiling, and reaching across the table, held his hand in hers. Jim returned her smile eagerly, brushing him thumb over her knuckles.

At this point Jim looked up, and slightly embarrassingly realised they were the only customers left in the restaurant, and it was decidedly later than he thought. "I think we've let time get away from us a bit!" He laughed, Pam nodded, agreeing, "Time to get out of here," As they stood up however, Jim instantly felt a pang as her hand left his, and he eagerly reclaimed it as they walked towards the door.

Far to soon, they were approaching Pam's front door step. As they reached her apartment, she turned to Jim. "Thankyou so much for dinner Jim, it was beautiful," She said as she looked right into his eyes in a way she hadn't allowed herself too since that night so long ago. "I am so so pleased we are finally on the same page," she glanced down at their hands still intertwined as she continued, "but I really don't think we should rush things." She looked at her feet as she said the rest, nervous about Jim's reaction. "I have wanted to be honest with you all year, since you've been back in Scranton I have imagined being here so many times, and now that we are, I really don't want to mess it up." She braved a glance at Jim, who was listening intently to what she was saying, but definitely had a look of apprehension and, was that disappointment she could see? So she hurried to reassure him, "I just mean, this morning you woke up in New York with Karen, and I think it would be foolish for us to go too far tonight. We've waited this long, I really want it to be perfect." She finished, looking at Jim, gauging how he would react. He smiled, knowing she wasn't talking about sex, but about all of it. Jim leaned in, and kissing her on the cheek whispered, "We have the rest of our lives Beesly, there's no rush at all," as he turned to stand back up straight his nose touched hers, and as their eyes met, the intensity of that moment caught them both completely off guard. Neither of them were quite sure how long they stood like that, eyes locked, so close they could feel the other breathing, until Pam leant in and gently touched her lips to his. The kiss was simple, gentle, and although fairly tame, both new it was only the beginning.

Jim stepped away, and smiling said, "I guess Ill see you tomorrow then Pam,"

Breathing heavily, Pam responded with a grin, "See you then" as she turned and went inside.


	2. Thursday

**AN: Hey guys, just a quick note to say hi, hope you enjoyed chapter one, and please dont hesitate to read and review :) This second chapter is a little shorter, but it is needed as a bridge. Obviously Im not talented enough to come up with any of these characters, anything of substance belongd to NBC, enjoy Xx **

_**Chapter Two**_

As Jim drove to work Thursday morning, his mind raced at a million miles an hour. Obviously he couldn't wait to see Pam, for nothing else then to be reassured that she also remembered dinner last night, and that it wasn't just an incredibly vivid dream. The sick feeling in his stomach over seeing Karen, however, would not budge. The way he left things in New York meant he wasn't sure whether she was successful, whether she was coming back to Scranton at all, and whether or not he needed to pack his bullet proof vest. The one thing keeping him calm? Last night. He now understood exactly what Pam was talking about last night. The outcome of today didn't really matter in the scheme of things. Whether he never saw Karen again, or whether it dragged out to be an awful mess of a break up, he knew Pam was waiting, and whenever he was ready, they would dive in. Together.

When Pam arrived at work, she discovered she had beaten both Jim and Karen (was Karen even coming back?), and she was definitely pleased to have the time to settle first. Absolutely she was nervous about seeing Karen if she was to come into work today. As thrilled as she was about what had transpired between herself and Jim in recent days, Pam didn't want to be that woman, she didn't want to think that she had done the wrong thing, and that Karen hated her for it. As her mind wandered, she almost missed Karen walking through the door, head down, clearly trying her best to avoid reception as much as possible. _Fair enough!_ Pam thought, _what would she want to say to me?_ As Pam pondered the situation, she instantly felt butterflies as she noticed Jim entering the building. He flashed her a smile as he came in the door, before the rest of the office could see, and as he approached the desk, greeted her with a warm, "Morning Beesly,", before taking a seat at his desk.

Pam's work day was somewhat uneventful. She wasn't talking to Jim really much more than they had been in previous weeks, only this time, when they did catch each other's eye or talk to each other, the conversation was much warmer, the smiles more genuine, and it felt like they were back to the way they used to be, when they were good friends and everything wasn't so complicated. Just after lunch however, the whole office came to a standstill as they watched Karen and Jim arguing in the kitchen. Pam tried to make out what they were saying, without seeming too nosy, although everyone was so focused on the former couple no one would have noticed. After what seemed like ages, Karen briskly returned to her desk, Jim following five minutes later, staring at the ground. Pam risked glances at Jim the rest of the day, wanting nothing more than to hug him, to make sure he was okay, but knowing that was probably not the wisest thing to do. As soon as the clock hit 5:00, Karen rose from her seat and headed straight from the parking lot, leaving behind lots of ooohs and aahhs muffled in the background, and eventually everyone else followed suit. As they approached their cars, Pam called out a quick "Bye Jim!" which was returned with a smile, and the two promptly headed home.

When Jim's phone rang just after 8:30, he instantly knew who it would be.

"Are you okay?"

"Dwight? How did you get this number?"

"Oh ha ha," Came Pam's sarcastic reply, although inwardly she was relieved he sounded like his normal self.

Jim laughed as he said, "No, Pam seriously, I'm okay, thank you. I'm mostly just embarrassed that everybody saw, not to mention the camera guys..."

"Oh don't even worry, I'm sure by tomorrow Michael will have their attention well and truly grasped, you know, with something really valuable and worthwhile, maybe Ping will make an appearance!"

Although Pam had honestly rang to lend an ear to Jim, they quickly starting talking about nonsense, and she soon forgot why she rang, or that she had planned to be in bed an hour ago, and simply enjoyed talking to her best friend. They chatted for hours, until they both were yawning far to much to ignore, and both very reluctantly decided they needed to hang up. Both Jim and Pam went to sleep that night with faint smiles on their faces, because for the first time in a long time, there was hope.


End file.
